Economic incentives for rain forest conservation across scales

Globally, tropical deforestation releases 20 to 30% of anthropogenic green- house gases. Conserving forests could reduce emissions, but the cost-effect iveness of this mechanism for mitigation depends on the associated opportun ity costs. We estimated these costs from local, national, and global perspe ctives using a case study from Madagascar, Conservation generated significa nt benefits over logging and agriculture Locally and globally. Nationally, however, financial benefits from industrial logging were Larger than conser vation benefits. Such differing economic signals across scales may exacerba te tropical deforestation. The Kyoto Protocol could potentially overcome th is obstacle to conservation by creating markers for protection of tropical forests to mitigate climate change.